Residency

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Imaginarium

October 22, 2012 in Exhibitions, Gamut Gallery, Imaginarium, Kate Renee, Painting, Residency | No comments

IMAGINARIUM

Gamut Gallery is featuring Brett Early and Kate Renee for their November exhibition called Imaginarium.

You are formally invited to attend the opening and closing reception!

The exhibition is November 3rd -November 24th.

The opening is November 3rd from 7-10pm.

The closing reception is November 24th from 7-10pm.

Gamut Gallery is located at

1006 Marquette Ave S

Minneapolis, MN 55402

You can also head on over to their website: http://www.gamutgallerympls.com/

Reflections on 2011 and Beginnings of 2012

January 2, 2012 in Accomplishing goals, Altered Esthetics, Bloomington Theatre and Art Center, Commissions, Faux Poco, In the Studio, Kate Renee, Local Artist Interview, Prairie Center of the Arts, Residency, Shoes | 1 comment

January 2011

2011 was the first official year of the Solo Exhibitions Program at AE. I am the developer of this program and as Director of Solo Exhibitions, I teach emerging artists how to become working professionals in the art world.

February 2011

I began the year off with my biggest exhibition to date, Two Perspectives. It was at the Coffman Art Gallery at the University of Minnesota and featured my animal paintings along side Katherine Sheehan from Texas. I had 9 works in the show and it had a great turn out. Many family and friends showed up for support. Thank you to all that attended.

In February, I also worked at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting,. I absolutely Loooved working there, even though it was just the gift store!

March-May 2011

The next following months I had many exhibitions, 7 to be exact I had work showing at Altered Esthetics in the Online (Dis) Connect show as well as Flesh and Form. I also got a few press articles printed about me, and I was featured on Michael McGraw’s Local Artist Interviews blog page. I also won a membership to Visual Arts Minnesota in the First Annual Interviewed Contest.

Read my interview here:

http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2011/04/kate-johnson-painter.html

The Katherine E. Nash Gallery and Nude Night in Florida featured life drawings. I had a bookarts piece at the Susan Hensel Gallery.

July 2011

But what was more exciting was my artist residency at Prairie Center for the Arts. This residency was 6 weeks long and I got to travel to Illinois. I packed up my little Saturn and drove the 7 hours there. I had lovely accommodations in Germantown Hills, and then a big painting studio in Peoria, the next town over.

I managed to make 50 some paintings, as well as a whole list of other projects. I began to also blog during this time; I figured I would like to remember my residency experience. Since then I have expanded my blogging topics to include my work habits, career guidance topics, artist interviews, book reviews, recipes and my current projects. I have always had a passion for creative writing and this really feeds into it!

2011 came with a bunch of fun commissions too!

My Toes Are Cold, 2011
Commission made for Rusty Gallaway

I Can Blow Bubbles With My Nose, 2011
Commission for MJ Winlaw

September 2011

Bringing back all my paintings from IL was quite the haul, but everything made it home alright! Upon returning from my residency, I sent out submission packets, and still anxiously wait replies from galleries. I am excited to show all of my new work, I also wrote and submitted 4 grants!

November 2011

November was a very busy month; I had my first installation piece shown at Altered Esthetics in the Food Fight show. It was called The Bad Fortune Cookie. I began to create this piece while at my residency this summer.

I created 100 fortunes out of wood. They were made from a Waterjet machine. I stained 3 times and ployacrylic-ed each cookie. Then I created custom bad fortunes for each one…good fortunes are boring. Then I stuck the fortunes all over a wall. Bad fortunes only cost $5 and you get to keep the cookie! I received a scholarship from Springboard for the Arts to attend the Giant Steps conference in 2011.

Following a project I began at my residency, I have begun to custom paint shoes. Since July I have made three pairs of shoes and a possible commission on the way! I made Cassy Lahr (Peterka) two pairs of custom shoes for her wedding this past December. They turned out gorgeous!

December 2011

I have my own studio at Faux Poco in St Paul! It’s the best thing I have done for my art career. This year I learned that I can’t work and live in the same space, and a computer and the internet are a huge distraction. So my studio is now my safe haven, and productivity master. I have completed 3 commissions during my first month there! And have clocked about 60 some hours of studio time already.

January 2012

2012 is already around the corner, but believe it or not, do not make any art related resolutions!…I do it in Julys Don’t as me why, but I goal set, and career plan in July and it seems to be extremely effective for me. I’ve done it two years in a row.

So here’s some upcoming 2012 art updates:

I was awarded the 2012 Featured Artist for the Level_13 Classic Video Game Art Show at AE… I was printed in the 2012 Altered Esthetics calendar with my work: Tipsy Shrooms. The exhibition is in April 2012.

I also got hired by Bloomington Art Center to teach a workshop on internet and social networking for artists. This workshop will be May 1st 2012. Contact me or Bloomington Art Center for more information. Register on their website.

2012 I am also working on some re-branding of my work. Soon I will have a new website under Kate Renee. Keep up with me and my work on Twitter, Youtube, MNartists, Linked In, Facebook and here on my blog The Suction Cup! Email me with any questions or comments; they are always appreciated kate.r.johnson (at) comcast.net

Thanks for reading my blog and supporting me and my creative work. And I am looking forward to another year of blogging! Now time to break in that new easel I got for Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

The Bad Fortune Cookie

November 7, 2011 in Kate Renee, Residency | 3 comments

During my residency, I had access to using a water jet machine. While I was spending my time focusing on my painting, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use this piece of machinery for free. I had the idea to create a wall of fortune cookies. But not just any kind of fortune… a bad fortune.

So it began with a digital sketch of a fortune cookie. Joe Richey, one of the founders of Prairie Center of the Arts helped me with this project. He helped me with the digital sketch and programmed it into the Waterjet.

I bought Luan, a type of plywood to use for my cookies. Here is a close up of the machine cutting out the cookies. We programmed 36 cookies per sheet of Luan. And after an hour of cutting, I had approximately 150 cookies!

The waterjet machine uses a high pressured water system to cut out programmed shapes. Granite grit is also in the water to help cut the material.

As Joe pulled the cookies off of the machine bed, he washed off the grit and passed them to me. I used an air compressor to rapidly dry the cookies. Leaving them wet would cause the glue in the wood to separate.

Cutting the cookies was the easy part. After that, I sanded and stained each cookie 3 times. I also used poly-acrylic top coat to give them a nice finish.

The eyes are safety eyes which are commonly used when knitting animals. I cleared out the 4 pack 15mm size eyes from 5 different Joann Fabrics! After drilling all of the holes for the eyes, I set the eyes for each cookie. They all have different wood grain, coloring and differently placed eyes, so each fortune cookie is unique.


I hand made this nifty little sign to go with the cookie installation.

I installed the piece title, The Bad Fortune Cookie, at Altered Esthetics’ for the Food Fight show which takes place during the month of November 2011. Took me two and a half hours to get the piece up. Here are a few pictures of the installation process….one cookie at a time. They stick to the wall with museum tack, so they can be removed as people purchase a bad fortune.

My intention for the piece is humor. I wanted to play off the traditional fortune cookie. Instead of the generic positive statement of good luck, I twisted the concept of fortune to be bad. And by bad I mean funny, witty, sarcastic and even mean. I made each of the bad fortunes up myself too!

Each cookie is only $10; participants willing to interact with my piece will pay for and choose a cookie right off the wall during the entire exhibition. All of the fortunes are concealed until the purchaser pulls it out from out the back. By the end of the show, hopefully my nice evenly spaced wall of cookies is a bit sparser as people take home their art!


If you would like your own fortune cookie, head to Altered Esthetics during the month of November to see the piece installed at 1224 Quincy St NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 or feel free to contact me!

Residency Tips Part 5: Resources

October 10, 2011 in Kate Renee, Prairie Center of the Arts, Residency, Tips | No comments

For those who have yet to have a residency, I’ve compiled a short list of resources that may be helpful, but be sure to do your own research. It takes planning and a bit of schedule coordination to fit in a residency especially if you are balancing a career, family, or other activities. If you are in a period of unemployment or are in between jobs and can spare some cash, I recommend taking an artist residency.

This was the website that I used to research residencies: Mesart. It breaks the list of residencies down into states, which is helpful if you have a continental area or specific state you wish to travel to. I knew I wanted to stay in the Midwest and found the Prairie Center of the Arts on this website. Many programs require you to apply a year or more in advanced, so plan accordingly. I recommend leaving the state or finding a residency that is far enough away that you are not tempted to head home for a weekend.

I also recommend reading Artist Communities: A Directory of Residencies That Offer Time and Space for Creativity, by the Alliance of Artists Communities. It’s a good resource for beginning to research places for residencies both national and international. The main aspect of the book is residency profiles. The book goes in depth with a bunch of residencies providing the reader with important information: location, available equipment, eligibility for acceptance, hosing and meals services, accessibility, application info, artist responsibilities and organization responsibilities. The index in the back are also helpful with easy to read charts for the information presented in the book. Here’s a link to the Artist Communities website as well!

Looking for a Minnesota Residency? Try some of these. Here is a list of a variety of residencies in Minnesota, some are media specific:

Articulture

Anderson Center

Lanesboro Arts

Franconia

Loft

MCBA

Northern Clay Center

Residency Tips Part 4: Residency on a Budget

September 26, 2011 in Kate Renee, Prairie Center of the Arts, Recipes, Residency, Tips | No comments

Can’t afford a residency, unable to leave your day job, maybe your art doesn’t transport well? Why not plan your own week or weekend residency in your studio, house or apartment. Plan an entire weekend focused on a weekend long project. Remove distractions from your home or studio. It may help to unplug your TV, computer, or turn off your phone. Build a distraction-free creative working environment, make a pot of coffee or tea and get busy!

My favorite studio drink is this homemade chai tea. It’s a recipe I got from my Grandma Joan. I made three batches of this chai for me and the other to artists, Lauren Scanlon and Allison Lacher while we were at Prairie Center and they loved it.

Grandma Joan’s Chai Tea

3 cups nonfat dry milk powder

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup unsweetened instant tea

3/4 cup vanilla powdered nondairy creamer

1-1/2 tsp ground ginger

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Optional garnish: whip cream

In a food processor, combine all dry ingredients: Cover and process until powdery. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

To prepare 1 serving: Dissolve 3 tbsp of mix in 3/4 cup boiling water, stir well. Dollop with whipped cream if desired

Residency Tips Part 3: Additional Considerations

September 19, 2011 in Kate Renee, Prairie Center of the Arts, Residency, Tips | No comments

My residency at Prairie Center of the Arts was my first residency and was a great learning experience. Below is a list I compiled before, during and after my residency that residency-first-timers may find helpful!

When you arrive, head to a visitor center to get maps and guides of the local area. Research places to go to while you are there before you get to your residency and create a schedule for yourself

  • What does your residency provide you with food, housing, a stipend? Who pays for the travel costs, material costs, equipment fees, residency fees? Make sure that you know what you need to bring to make your art and what is provided for you.
  • Make sure you are educated on the expectations of your residency. Many expect artist to participate in public exhibitions, lectures, slide talks, art work donation, studio tours and more.
  • Bring more supplies than you think you may need – prevents frequent trips to stores which eats up studio time, saves gas, and may save money depending on the cost of materials in the town or city you are in. I brought a gallon of white paint, and was completely out after the first four weeks!

  • Ladies- consider how much beauty supplies you need to bring, residencies mean working hard in the studio and no need to get dolled up! Consider bringing a hair clip to tie up your hair rather than dragging your hair products and hair dryer along.
  • Keep a journal! Written, visual, or digital (or all three) record your residency experience.
  • Charge your GPS, Ipod, cell phone, camera, or other electronics before you go.
  • Have a packing list and keep track of what you bring so you can re-pack everything when your residency is over. It’s also handy to maintain a record of your packing list so you can refer to it when you have another residency.
  • Prep work is important, begin projects that are detailed or take a lot of prep work the day before you want to work on that project so when your ready to work on it, your not wasting time. I spent 2 days prepping these red boards before I began to paint the imagery on them.

  • Take care of you studio or space, damaging the residency’s furniture or materials may mean you get charged or your deposit is not returned. I always tape down crate paper on table tops and under areas where I use permanent art materials like inks, paints and glues. Lay tarps under easels and areas where material may get onto the floor. These precautions will also help protect your art. Other artists have used the space before you and their art materials and residue may be still on the table tops or easels.
  • Keep plastic and grocery bags from your food purchases to help pack up your materials when you have to bring them home. Have you considered how you are getting that work of art home safely? You can also uses your blankets, pillow and towels as packing cushion, just make sure they are clean before you wrap your art in them.
  • Pack at least one nice or professional outfit. You may have the chance to show your work in a gallery, attend an opening, or have a residency sponsored dinner or event to attend to.

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